In the Dark
by afanoftvd
Summary: Inspired by 1x16 There Goes the Neighbourhood. After Pearl visits him Damon spends a couple of hours in the dark and begins to see things in a different light. One shot.


Inspired by 1x16 There Goes the Neighbourhood.

After Pearl visits him Damon spends a couple of hours in the dark and begins to see things in a different light.

**In the Dark**

Damon cupped his hands over his eyes, the blood pooling in the cracks between his fingers. A sheet of blackness threatened to overwhelm his whole being. He fought it off listening with every fiber of his body until he was sure Pearl and Anna's vehicle had pulled onto the main road, then finally gave in to the blackness.

Damon awoke with a groan, his head pounding and his eyes screaming with fire. He pushed himself onto all fours then rolled to a sitting position, his back against the sofa where Pearl had left him. He touched his eyes gingerly and could feel the blood still oozing out slowly.

"Stefan!" He croaked hoarsely. Then much louder, "Stefan!" He grabbed his head with a gasp, his yell threatening to splinter it in pieces. He waited for a moment listening for any movement. "Of course you'd pick today to live out your teenage dream."

He fumbled in his back pocket for his phone. "Voice control please, please, please work today." he begged. He pressed the control button on the phone and said "Call Stefan". When he heard the phone dialing he mouthed a relieved 'thank you'.

"You've reached Stefan. Leave a message." Came the terse reply.

"Hey, I know you're out picking daisies or something for your girl, but I could use you at the house for a bit." His voice trailed off and he let the phone drop by his side.

"Guess you're on your own little boy." He muttered to himself, defeated and let the blackness take him once again.

Katherine's promises played back again and again in the black haze incessantly interrupted by Anna's statement.

"She knew where you were. She didn't care."

Damon searched for proof that Anna was wrong, but as he dredged through the memories he confirmed once again that she was absolutely right. He could see the looks, the smiles, the fawning stares. Katherine had played him the way she had played every other man in town.

"You naive blind child!" He tormented himself. "You rushed headlong into this life without once considering what it would take from you. You put yourself in this position. It is no one's fault but your own."

"Katherine! " He screamed full of anguish, the pain in his head echoing the pain in his heart, then whispered to himself as the black haze took over again. "Why did you abandon me to this mockery of a life?"

He awoke again with the warmth of the sun on his face. "Still daylight," he thought relieved. But the rays seemed to come from a lower angle this time. It would get dark soon which only multiplied the perils he might have to face.

"Hello? Anybody home?" He paused, listening for something, anything. "It's too damn quite in this house. Not even a clock ticking." He muttered. The only thing giving him any sense of time and place was the warmth of the sun on his skin.

"Can't just wait around for someone to take me out. Think Damon!" He commanded himself trying to eke a rational thought out of his tortured mind. "Emergency stash, cellar fridge." He propped himself up against the sofa, and rising unsteadily he groped his way blindly across the room knocking over lamps and chairs as he tripped toward the cellar. A sixth sense made him stop as a void loomed up before him.

"Oh what the hell!" He said recklessly and half jumped, half threw himself down the stairs. A wall reared up sooner than he expected sending a shockwave through his body and other searing slice of pain through his head as it bounced him against a the handrail shattering it. He lay stunned on his back breathing hard.

He froze instantly as his ears picked up a footstep in the foyer. "Doesn't anyone use the doorbell anymore?" he asked himself annoyed.

Stefan walked in the door and surveyed the blood on the sofa and rug. He cautiously followed the trail of destruction toward the cellar.

Damon groped his way silently back up the stairs his fangs bared and the broken handrail in his hand. He waited until the footsteps crossed the threshold of the cellar then threw himself wildly at the sound. Stefan overpowered him easily, sending him crashing back down the stairs.

"Damon! What the hell?" Stefan asked shocked. He turned to see Damon pull himself painfully into a crouch brandishing the makeshift wooden stake wildly, his face obscured by the deep shadows of the basement.

"Stefan?" Damon searched blindly for him while fighting to keep his balance. "Didn't know it was you. Why'd you have to sneak up on me like that?"

"Sounded like World War 3 down there." Stefan explained.

"No just me battling my demons." Damon said leaning unsteadily into the wall.

"Anyone pull ahead?" Stefan asked watching Damon cautiously as he descended the stairs towards him.

"Stalemate as usual." Damon sighed sliding further down the wall.

"Got your message. You didn't sound so goo..." Stefan said. "Wo!" he exhaled in shock as he reached the landing and finally got a look at Damon's blood encrusted and swollen eyes. In a blur he swept the stake out of Damon's hand and caught him before he collapsed.

"You don't have to fight me." He reassured Damon

"Sorry. Feeling a little vulnerable right now. What with being blind and all." Damon shrugged half heartedly.

"Don't worry. I got you." Stefan picked Damon up and carried him to his own room. "What happened?" he asked as he laid Damon down on the bed.

"Complements of Pearl. Seems she has appointed herself the new vampire matriarch of Mystic Falls. As you can see I wasn't very effective in convincing her otherwise." Damon fell back against the pillows holding his head. "My eyes are on fire." He groaned.

Stefan walked to the bathroom and soaked a towel with cold water. He returned and placed it in Damon's hands. "This might help." Damon placed it gingerly over his eyes wincing as the cold battled the searing heat.

"Have you had any blood yet?" Stefan asked.

"I was trying to get some when you ambushed me."

Stefan paused for second an ironic smile on his face. "Be right back."

"Make some noise." Damon called out nervously. "So I know where you're at." By the time he finished the sentence Stefan had returned with several blood bags and a glass.

"Can you sit up?" Stefan asked

Damon made a feeble attempt to sit up but sank back into the bed. "Feel like my head is going to split open."

Stefan sat beside Damon, and helped him to sit up. With one arm he supported Damon against his body and with the other he brought the glass to Damon's lips. Damon sipped slowly at first then more hungrily.

"More please." Damon asked draining the glass quickly. Stefan continued to refill the glass until Damon finally pushed it away and relaxed back against his body.

"How's the pain?" Stefan asked as he helped Damon lie back down.

"Easing up." Damon admitted gratefully. "What time is it? " He asked.

"Four." Stefan answered

"It's only been a couple hours?" Damon asked. "Felt like an eternity... and you weren't …." He let the thought drift away. "Why do you think it's taking so long?"

"Eyes are a complicated organ. Just give it a little longer." Stefan reassured him.

"I don't really do patience." Damon complained.

Stefan let out a loud guffaw.

"What?" Damon asked offended. "Oh right. There is that person I waited 145 years for."

"Can I take a look?" Stefan asked cautiously. Damon opened his eyes and looked blindly at Stefan. "Just don't touch okay?"

"Looking pretty good." Stefan said, "Wouldn't know anything was wrong."

"Yeah, except I can't SEE." Damon reminded him testily.

"Let me get you some more blood." Stefan answered. He retrieved the glass from the night table refilled it, and forgetting for a moment that Damon couldn't see he held it out casually in front of Damon. Damon snatched the glass in a smooth motion and drank it back in a shot.

"Did you just see the glass?" Stefan asked

"Not sure..." Damon said confused then grabbed his head in excruciating pain. "The lights!" he groaned

Stefan blurred across the room turning off lights and drawing the drapes. Damon relaxed back on the bed breathing a sigh of relief, his arm shielding his eyes. He breathed slowly for a moment then opened his eyes cautiously.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." He smiled, resting his gaze on Stefan.

"Think I got something that will help with that." Stefan rifled through his dresser drawer and pulled out a dark pair of sunglasses. Damon slipped them on then sat up slowly. He flicked on the bedside lamp, cringed a little, but left it on.

"Appreciated the brotherly interlude, but next time I'd really prefer if she'd go for a stake in the gut. At least you can see what's coming at you." Damon said standing up.

"Careful what you ask for." Stefan warned, reaching out a hand to steady Damon by the elbow.

"I'm okay." Damon said refusing the assistance. "Just need to clean myself up." He made his way to the bathroom a little slower than usual, but showing no major signs of distress. "Oh. Remind me fix that grandfather clock in the library."

"Weren't you the one that pulled the springs out? Something about the incessant ticking driving you insane?" Stefan asked mystified.

"Changed my mind," Damon shrugged, turning on the tap.

"Can I get you anything?" Stefan asked as he headed out of the room.

"Female bubble bath buddy, would be perfect right about now." Damon replied making Stefan laugh.

Five minutes later a freshly dressed Damon cruised past Stefan in the living room.

"Are you sure you're ready to go out?" Stefan asked cautiously. "I could stay awhile..."

"Yep." Damon cut him off. "Time for some serious self medicating." He explained, pulling on his leather jacket, the sunglasses still firmly over his eyes. "And you my friend have a very important double date." He teased pointing at Stefan's chest. "By the way, did you get those flowers yet?"

"No." Stefan answered with a questioning look.

"Tulips and daffodils. She'll like that." Damon gave Stefan a backhanded wave as he sauntered out of the room.


End file.
